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apply to join the COTE Leadership Group & more

By Kira L. Gould Hon. AIA posted 2 days ago
JOIN COTE: Apply this spring/summer ror the national Leadership Group If you have been in the COTE community for a while, or are new to our tent, perhaps it’s time to think about applying to the national Leadership Group of COTE, an AIA Knowledge Community (since 1990). What does the COTE Leadership Group do? This group of a dozen people shape and shepherd COTE’s flagship programs, the COTE Top Ten Awards and the AIA/ACSA COTE Top Ten for Students Competition … as well as guiding knowledge development, collaborating with other climate groups at AIA (2030 Working Group, materials groups, the Resilience and Adaptation Group, and more). ...

May 2025 AIA Corporate Partners COTE Newsletter Article: Andersen Windows & Doors

By Ellie Falcon posted 2 days ago
Climate-responsive, affordable design: A case study In 2024, there were 27 $1 billion dollar weather events in the United States, so designing with climate in mind is more of an imperative than ever before. A new home in Austin, Texas makes a perfect case study in how to do this. Barley | Pfeiffer Architecture doesn’t describe their homes as “sustainable.” Instead, they favor “climate responsive.” The reason? “Climate-responsive homes are inherently sustainable but not every sustainable home is climate responsive,” said Peter L. Pfieffer, FAIA, principal. Their focus is on designing homes that reduce energy demand by accounting for real-world ...

RUDC Letter from the Chair (April 2025)

By Alison Karfeld posted 3 days ago
5280 – If you’re from Denver, that number resonates. It’s everywhere, marking the “Mile High City.” From the row of purple seats in Coors Field to the engraved granite on the fifteenth step of the Colorado State Capitol, the mark of 5,280 feet above sea level appears again and again. (Note: Some 1969 researchers put the distinction of 5,280 feet at the 18th Capitol step, and in 2003, they changed it again to the 13th step. So let’s just say it’s approximately a mile high.) I had the privilege of visiting Denver earlier this month for the American Planning Association’s conference (#npc25). During the sessions and tours, one theme kept emerging: authenticity. ...

Letter from the Chair: May/June 2025

By Robin Leigh Ziegenbalg Puttock AIA posted 5 days ago
As an architecture professor and practitioner, collaboration is part of my daily routine. I invite interdisciplinary experts into my classes just as I invited them to be a part of my design teams. If you follow me on LinkedIn , you will see that this year, I hosted commissioning agents and mechanical engineers in my 5 th year workforce housing studio and just a couple weeks ago, I hosted social workers, nurses and psychologists in my well-being thesis studio. The written and verbal reflections of the guests and students after these workshops revealed a truth. None of us know it all, but together, we can sure learn a lot. As highlighted in my last chair letter, ...

Stronger Together: Collaborative Advocacy

By Joyce A. Raybuck AIA posted 5 days ago
After dismantling federal climate and energy policies, the current administration is moving on to state and local levels with the release of an Executive Order that attempts to eradicate state decarbonization efforts. As noted in a recent New York Times article, Gina McCarthy the former Administrator of the EPA said, “I think one of the reasons you see him going after states is that they are the final line of defense.” [1] In states where there are not strong climate policies, certain state governments are restricting cities from addressing concerns. Where I currently reside in Missouri (a home rule state) to pass a bill stating that no local jurisdiction ...

Toward a Carbon Neutral Corridor - AIA Upjohn Sponsored Research by archimania

By Daniel J. Stine AIA posted 8 days ago
Toward a Carbon Neutral Corridor is an AIA Upjohn Research Initiative project that ambitiously explores how aging, auto-oriented commercial corridors in Middle America can be reimagined as vibrant, low-carbon, and socially resilient districts. Spearheaded by archimania , in collaboration with Transsolar - KlimaEngineering , the research builds upon the firm’s own South Cooper Street studio—the first adaptive reuse project certified as both Zero Energy and Zero Carbon by the International Living Future Institute, which also won a 2022 AIA COTE Top Ten award . This project delivers a set of layered toolkits designed for architects, ...

COTE Network Update

By Sean Costello AIA posted 9 days ago
The Cote Network is excited to share an upcoming event If you are planning to attend the AIA National Conference this year in Boston! We hope that you can join us for a lively session of "curated networking" as the Committee on the Environment (COTE) hosts an open Forum. This will occur on Thursday, June 5 th at 11 am. COTE Chair Robin Puttock, the two past winners of the COTE Top Ten for Students Competition, and longtime industry leader and educator Barbra BatShalom will share remarks and engage in a great conversation! We hope to see everyone there! If you missed the Q1 COTE network call, don’t worry, you can find the recording and slides in our archive ...

Spotlight on Sustainability: Celebrating the Achievements of Local and State COTE Groups

By Lindsey R. Falasca posted 9 days ago
This Earth Day, we’re proud to spotlight a selection of educational and advocacy initiatives from COTE groups at AIA state and local chapters that are making a tangible difference in their regions—proving that climate leadership starts at the local level. Architects and designers across the country are stepping up through their local networks—driving real change where it matters most: in their communities. The AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) Network is a powerful force for environmental stewardship in architecture, with more than 60 local and state groups mobilizing around sustainable design, community resilience, and climate action. Educational ...

New Course Early ACCESS: April 1–23 Only

By Ellie Falcon posted 9 days ago
Be among the first to experience AIAU's groundbreaking Design for Decarbonization series with free access to the inaugural course, The Built Environment's Carbon Challenge —for a limited time. This exclusive opportunity ends after April 22 (Earth Day). After this date the course returns to regular pricing as part of our premium series. Course Link: https://aiau.aia.org/course/details/the-built-environments-carbon-challenge Promo Code: EARTHDAY2025 Please share with colleagues to amplify our industry's climate impact!

New Course Early ACCESS: April 1–23 Only

By Ellie Falcon posted 9 days ago
Be among the first to experience AIAU's groundbreaking Design for Decarbonization series with free access to the inaugural course, The Built Environment's Carbon Challenge —for a limited time. This exclusive opportunity ends after April 22 (Earth Day). After this date the course returns to regular pricing as part of our premium series. Course Link: https://aiau.aia.org/course/details/the-built-environments-carbon-challenge Promo Code: EARTHDAY2025 Please share with colleagues to amplify our industry's climate impact!

Climate Action at AIA25 | The COTE Guide to the AIA Conference

By Kira L. Gould Hon. AIA posted 10 days ago
Climate Action at AIA25: The COTE Guide The AIA Conference on Architecture (AIA25) is June 4-7, 2025, in Boston AIA25: schedule / register The Committee on the Environment (COTE) Leadership Group and many COTE volunteers and members of the COTE Network of groups look forward to the conference every year as an opportunity to connect, learn, and continue our efforts toward our common goals. We hope you will join us for some networking at connection at the following events: COTE Open Forum / EV114 Thursday, June 5: 11am-1230pm; Room TBD Speakers: Robin Puttock, Barbra BatShalom Join the COTE community ...

Letter from the chairs

By Ellie Falcon posted 11 days ago
Thank you for tuning into our first AIA Resilience and Disaster Response (RADR) "ray-dar" "RAD-der!" newsletter! This will be our place to share insight, current events, and future planning for the RADR committee. We also would love to hear your thoughts, comments, and feedback along the way as well. Feel free to reach out and post your comments below. RADR is the combined forces of the previous Disaster Assistance Committee (DAC) and Resilience & Adaptation Advisory Group (RAD-ag) in the AIA Knowledge Community. The vision of this committee is to equip architects to advance resilience in the built environment and help communities prepare for and ...

IAKC April Letter from the co-chairs, Yutaka Takiura, AIA & Candice Rabovsky, AIA

By Alison Karfeld posted 14 days ago
Dear Interior Architecture Knowledge Community Members, As we step into this season of renewal and growth, we are excited about the momentum the IAKC has seen in recent months and look forward to the upcoming initiatives planned as we head into spring and summer. We met some new faces at our March At-Large meeting and hope to see more of you at these monthly meetings where we can share ideas, projects, and best practices while also learning from each other. Coming up in June at the AIA25 Conference on Architecture in Boston , the Interior Architecture Knowledge Community will host our annual forum highlighting some of the winners from last year’s Interior ...

April Member Spotlight: Dane Rausch, AIA

By Alison Karfeld posted 15 days ago
Having grown up in rural Wisconsin, surrounded by farmland, Dane Rausch, AIA became keenly aware of the spatial changes that occurred with the seasons. He experienced vast open fields covered in snow, replaced by row upon row of budding crops that continued to grow into tall stalks of corn, enclosing his childhood home. This sense of continuously changing spatial configurations and the impact it has on the emotional connection one has to space are foundational to his work in design and architecture. Throughout his youth, he explored different aspects of space from fort building in the woods to corn mazes in the fields. These explorations were reinforced upon ...

Technology content at AIA25

By Emma Tucker posted 16 days ago
If you are coming to the AIA Conference on Architecture & Design (AIA25) this year (June 4-7 in Boston), there are a couple official TAP events plus many more great sessions to consider! This guide provides you with an inside look at some of the sessions and events that TAP members might be most interested in. TAP events Wednesday: TAP+COTE ® Symposium at AIA25 Advancing a Sustainable Future through Technology Innovation SYM102 | 8:45am-5pm | 6 LUs | $149 (if attending AIA25) / $279 (symposium only) The built environment plays a significant role in climate change and resource depletion, making transitioning to sustainable ...

Project delivery at AIA25

By Emma Tucker posted 16 days ago
If you are coming to the AIA Conference on Architecture & Design (AIA25) this year (June 4-7 in Boston), there is an official PDKC event plus many more great sessions to consider! This guide provides you with an inside look at some of the sessions and events that PDKC members might be most interested in. PDKC events Friday: Project Delivery & Public Architects Open Forum EV134 | 11-12:30am The Public Architects and the Project Delivery knowledge communities are excited to announce that they will combine their open forums to discuss issues of relevance to both groups. Leaders from these two communities will facilitate a collection ...

CCA-related content at AIA25

By Emma Tucker posted 16 days ago
If you are coming to the AIA Conference on Architecture & Design (AIA25) this year (June 4-7 in Boston), there is an official CCA workshop plus many more great sessions to consider! This guide provides you with an inside look at some of the sessions and events that CCA members might be most interested in. CCA events Wednesday: Architects in Work Boots WE100 | 9:30am-11:30am | 2 LU Do you know how to lead a project through construction contract administration? To do so successfully, you need an in-depth understanding of how to manage this phase. This session will provide strategic management insights and feature case studies to ...